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Top 20 Healthiest Cities In America 2014

In fact, the south, in what really should constitute a call for national action, boasts just one city, the culturally anomalous Austin, Texas, in the top 20. And 17 of the 20 least healthy cities (unfortunate exceptions being Indianapolis, Detroit, and Columbus, Ohio) are in the South.

Here are America’s Top 10 Healthiest Cities with their AFI Ranking Scores:

Washington, D.C. 77.3

Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn. 73.5

Portland, Oregon. 72.1

Denver, Colorado. 71.7

San Francisco, Calif. 71.0

San Jose, Calif. 69.4

Seattle, Wash. 69.3

San Diego, Calif. 69.2

Boston, Mass. 69.1

Sacramento, Calif. 66.9

So which factors made a difference in helping a city improve its score? San Diego, which is new to the top -10 list at number 8, jumping from 14th place last year, offers some insight. In San Diego, 77 percent of residents engaged in physical activity in the last 30 days and just 23 percent are obese, giving the city a fourth-place ranking in the individual health behaviors category.

Almost 40 percent of San Diegans eat at least two servings of fruit a day and 20 percent eat three or more servings of vegetables a day, well above the national average.

However, the city ranked 14th in community health indicators, most startlingly in that less than 3 percent of residents use public transportation to get to work and less than 4 percent walk or bicycle to work. Nevertheless, the city’s walk score was just a hair shy of 50 percent.

And Here Are the Cities Ranked 10 to 20:

Salt Lake City, Utah 65.7

Hartford, Conn. 63.8

Raleigh, N.C. 61.5

Austin, Texas 60.6

Chicago, Ill. 56.6

Atlanta, Ga. 56.0

Pittsburgh, Pa. 54.8

Cincinnati, Ohio 54.5

Los Angeles, Calif. 53.4

Philadelphia, Pa. 52.9

New to the top 20 for 2014 are Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles, which displaced Cleveland, Baltimore and Virginia Beach. The annual investigation and report is funded by a $158,000 grant from the Wellpoint Foundation.

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Infrastructure is only one aspect. See this list for the cities where people actually do walk – and where they don’t. http://zestnow.com/view/entertainment/travel/600/the-10-most-walkable-cities-in-america-the-worst.html Other important health issues are on this critical check list http://zestnow.com/view/health-happiness/healthy-living/10/7-steps-to-best-health-past-55.html

“Memphis, build some parks and recreational centers.” No, he’s really just saying, “Memphis, spend more money on your parks and recreation account.” One reason DC ranks high on this measure is that salaries there tend to be high, so providing the same level of service would cost much more in DC than in Memphis.

Great article. One clarification: aren’t Raleigh (ranked just ahead of Austin) and Atlanta both in the South? (ref: “In fact, the south, in what really should constitute a call for national action, boasts just one city, the culturally anomalous Austin, Texas, in the top 20.”)